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Finneous Fogg

Your biggest lure making problem??

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This has been, and I'm sure will continue to be, a great place for tips and tricks for lure makers. If only my budget could keep up with what I've been learning in the last month.

So... I'm very new at this and thought I'd ask a question to all about what has been your biggest mistake or problem when painting or designing a new hard bait???

And how did you fix it?

Chris

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My biggest problems are getting the lips cut right and getting a smooth body after drilling holes for weight and rattles. This is why I will be attempting to make foam lures in the near future.

Yeah, I've been giving foam a lot of thought lately. But quality wood lures are just golden. But I really want to make a good suspending rip bait.

Sigh- what to do, what to do? :?

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Not waiting till my wife and kids go visit her family. It sometimes think that if they see me working on lures means it is time to do laundry, bath time, ________ fill in the blank with what has to be done now task.

Lucky for me I'm single and living alone. I only have to worry about neighbors complaining about my air compressor!

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This is a great question! There have been dozens that I have had to work through, some with the help of other board members here and others "on my own". Lately it has been with bubbles......."bubble trouble". The mahogany I am currently using loves to oooze bubbles despite the fact that it is sealed and primed, have no idea why. And then there is my day job, always in the way of making lures!

Jed

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No doubt at all its TIME! Have a bunch of irons in the fire with CLU, work, 2 young kids (3 & 5), family duties, and with club/tx fishing.

Biggest problem when it comes to custom lures specifically...keeping a 100% functioning head assembly on the airbrush. Have been wearing them out pretty quickly past few months.

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This darn board! :lol:

I used to think I made the best lures in the world, after I found this board I realized I was making junk. Everytime I think I am getting it mastered someone posts a picture in the gallery that blows me away, back to the drawing board.

Seriuously, the great work done by the members on this board sets the bar so high I am constantly re-examing my work and finding areas to improve.

A few months ago I struggling to understand the concept of balance, but I read some of Skeeters posts and I now understand it much better, and my lures show it.

Now I am struggling with my airbrush, but this forum has offered many solutions.

Going forward my biggest challenge will be to reconize what I do well and focus my efforts in that direction.

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Time here too. I have a 4 y.o. and 2 y.o. twins. I get about two hours a night after we get everyone to bed to make lures.

Outside of that, I had my biggest headaches getting wood lures properly primed so they wouldn't split. It was very discouraging getting this beautiful lure done and then having it split after a day on the water. Hear me now or believe me later, find a good primer.

We all have different opinions on what is the best primer (do a search, this topic has been discussed well), but don't skimp on priming. I use Flex Coat cut 6:1 with acetone and have never (NEVER) had one split on me since.

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My biggest problem right now, after a lack of cash flow, is finding the right bodies to paint.

What I'd like to do is get into a partnership with someone who has the tools, talent and desire to make the best wooden hardbaits possible. And doesn't want to get into the painting end of it. (That's my department.) :P

Then there's the issue of marketing. Bass fishermen are unbelievably difficult to market a product to. Someone recently told me they thought I painted baits to catch fishermen not fish. Which is only partially true. If you don't catch the fishermen, they're not gonna throw your baits. If they don't throw your baits, they're not gonna catch any fish.

The ironic part is, fish don't give a damn about the paint job. Present a bait to 'em properly and they'll eat it regardless.

- So you really do have to catch the fishermen in the first place! 8O:lol:

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My biggest problem has been space. I started making stickbait molds when I lived in an apartment in FlA with my wife. I nearly ruined the brand new counter top with smooth on resin, and my wife was always pissed that I had my junk out in the way. Then we moved back to MO and I lived in my In-laws basement-No way to work on lures there. Then we bought a house-that had no garage! Wife once again was sick of kitchen and table cluttered with stuff then we had a baby.

So I decided to build a big shed in the back yard and finally set up my own lure studio. Soon as the shed was done I gutted my kitchen and my shed filled up with materials and tools for remodel work. Finished the kitchen-Sold the house! Right now I am living im My Parents Basement @%#@#%@^

However we are going to put an offer on a house tommorow that has a 2000 sq ft work shop in the back yard and a work shop in the basement.

If we get this house I am not going to let anything get in my way of making a whole mess of baits and get my web site going!

I am truly addicted to creating new lures and I am having severe withdrawls--especially after seeing some the sick artwork you guys are pumping out-totally incredible!!!

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Time definitely. Need more of both for making lures and then fishing them.

PC, primer helps, but it is the sealer that keeps wood baits from splitting. Flex coat (and other epoxies) only protect the lure until they are compromised. Once you get that first crack in the epoxy, water will get in. Seal them (60% boiled linseed/ 40% mineral spirits mix for me), and it does not matter what happens to your clear coat, paint, primer, the wood is still protected.

Andrew

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:D Been there and done that. My kids are all grown and moved out. I worked basically day and night with no time for fishing. My last five years I worked 12-7 for weeks on end. All I did was work or sleep. Then at 55 I decided there was more to life than work so my wife and I retired early. She is behind my luremaking 100 %. I have one room in the house where I dress hooks and put the hardware on finished or painted baits. I have a 24' x 30' shop full of woodworking tools and I have heat in there if I need it. Life is good-- what more could a guy ask for?? I get up in the moring and all I have to do is make lures or not!! I think this is just awesome. :lol: Once it warms up and the lakes thaw out I will have to go fishing to try some of my lures out. Either I will be fishing or making lures so I must be in heaven. Right. It will all work out for all of you in time. Hang in there. Ken Schmitz Mylures

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I only have one problem, it is Monday ? Friday at 8:00 AM ? 4:30 PM it is the big W word. I also have 4 and 5 year old boys and one on the way. I don?t call this a problem because I love spending time with my boys. I remember one day I had to get some lures done. My wife was gone with my youngest son and I had my oldest boy. I gave TY a lure that was ready for paint, a brush, paint, and some glitter paint. I told him that he could paint it however he liked. That is my #1 lure that I love and will not fish or sale. It looks amazing and I would not take any amount offered to me.

I would have to say my #1 lure making problem is all the ideas I come up with and the lakes are frozen so I cant test. I have two different crank baits another glide bait and the most amazing soft plastic lure. I have them aquarium tested but need the final lake testing before I make more.

-Corey

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Pain from a re-herniated disk (etc.) that's been cut on once...works pretty good as a built-in barometer though!

I have a love-hate relationship with balsa--it can be a bitch to get sealed sometimes, (Can you say Paint-bubble :?: ) but I love the responsiveness of the lures I make with it. It is a daily lesson in patience...

Dean

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Time definitely. Need more of both for making lures and then fishing them.

PC' date=' primer helps, but it is the sealer that keeps wood baits from splitting. Flex coat (and other epoxies) only protect the lure until they are compromised. Once you get that first crack in the epoxy, water will get in. Seal them (60% boiled linseed/ 40% mineral spirits mix for me), and it does not matter what happens to your clear coat, paint, primer, the wood is still protected.

Andrew[/quote']

apb, could you go into a bit more detail on how you're sealing your wood baits? Do you actually boil the linseed or ??? I'm guessing you're mixing it with the mineral spirits then brushing it on the baits. Or do you spray it or maybe dip the baits into a bath???

Sorry for all the questions but I think you've got some great info!

Chris

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You can find boiled linseed oil in the paint section of most places (Home Depot and Lowes both have it). I mix that with mineral spirits. 60% linseed with 40% spirits. I dip my blanks in it. To do this I set up a section of PVC pipe with an end cap glued on the bottom. Pipe is held in a clamp so that it remains upright. After dipping, I put an end cap on the top of the PVC and that stores the mix for later use.

For woods like cedar, I dip the blank for 30 seconds or so. Hard woods like birch, 1 minute. After dipping, I let the excess drip back into the pipe, then wipe off the blank with a rag and hang to dry. Usually takes 5-7 days to fully dry. After that, prime and paint as usual. Note that you should read the warning label on the boiled linseed can real well and follow those instructions (flamable stuff!!!).

Basically this stuff is absorbed into the wood and provides a protective layer that stops water from getting in. I've had plugs that had the finish torn off to the wood, and sometimes into the wood, due to fish/rocks and they never got water logged or caused the wood to split. When the paint gets real rough, just sand off the original paint, prime and paint again. They'll last for years.

Andrew

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Us "getting old" folks need our memories jogged sometimes, thanks Andrew. I learned about using linseed oil on wood when I was a kid. My neighbor made custom guns stocks and hand-rubbed the linseed oil into the wood to seal it. Forgot all about it until now, even though I did seal an old gun a few years back.

God made men's memory and women's sex drive the same, they go away as we get older!

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